Absolution
by Malley
Summary: You're insane, they said. Why would you want to go back? they wondered. You're only going to dig up bad memories. Mike Schmidt has a deeper connection to Freddy's, more than just his new job. Now, he was looking to make up for his misdeeds of the past. Mike was looking for absolution. Spoilers for FNaF 4 and the Bite of 87. Rated T for language (only a few words). COMPLETE
1. Night One

**DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters.** Except Olivia. I own that character. That's it, though. Yep.

 **A/N:** Greetings everyone! Some of you may know me from over on The Mentalist boards but, for those who don't, welcome! My name is Malley and I will be your writer today. So, this is my first shot at a FNaF FF. There will be some spoilers for the fourth game, as well as the bite of 87, but not in the first chapter. I will be marking the entire story with the spoiler tag, just to be safe. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter. Reviews are much appreciated.

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*SPOILERS FOR FNaF 4 and THE BITE OF '87*

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ABSOLUTION

 _CHAPTER ONE-THE FIRST NIGHT_

 _You're insane_ , they said. _Why would you want to go back?_ they wondered. _You're only going to dig up bad memories_. Mike Schmidt frowned to himself as he adjusted his purple security guard uniform top in the mirror in the men's restroom at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Mike recalled the glory that was once Fazbear Entertainment. Fredbear's Family Diner was re-branded into the childhood fun-land giant, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. It was the go to destination for parties, pizza, and entertainment. Essentially, it was where a kid went to just enjoy being a kid. Hell, he'd even had a party there himself when he was a child. But, then again, who didn't? Growing up in the era that Mike did, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was where the _cool kids_ held their birthday parties. If you didn't hold your birthday party at Freddy's, no one thought it was worth attending.

Mike had to admit that he never thought for a moment that he would ever be setting foot back into a Freddy Fazbear's establishment, let alone return as an employee. Alas, that was how life worked sometimes. No, Mike knew that he couldn't blame life for this decision. There had been a ton of other open positions in the 'help wanted' ads in the newspaper, but he had to choose this one. It was the only way, he felt, to make things right. " _Family pizzaria looking for security guard to work the nightshift. 12 am to 6 am. Monitor cameras, ensure safety of equipment and animatronic characters. Not responsible for injury/dismemberment."_ The company might not be responsible, Mike considered, but he certainly felt like he was.

Shaking his head, Mike turned from the mirror and stepped over to the sink. Turning on the faucet, he splashed some cold water onto his face to bring his nerves back in check. Mike dried himself off, discarded his paper towel in the trash bin and then made his way out of the restroom. He checked his watch as he walked down the hallway toward the security guard office. 11:45 p.m. Fifteen minutes until go time.

Reaching the office, Mike peeked inside and saw the guard currently on duty was still inside. He knocked on the door frame and the guard, Olivia King, glanced over at Mike from over the top of the book she was currently reading.

"You the new security guard?" she questioned, eyeing Mike intensely from behind her silver rimmed glasses frames.

"That's me," Mike replied, stepping completely into the doorway so that the senior security guard could see him.

"Punctual," Olivia remarked. "I like that."

She put her bookmark into her book before closing it and tossing it onto the desk next to where she had positioned her feet as she reclined in the desk chair. Olivia took her reading glasses off and pushed them up so they rested on her head. She swung her feet off the desk and then stood up in front of Mike.

"Name's Olivia," she said, giving Mike a hearty handshake. "Been here for a long time. I was here back when Freddy's was still called Fredbear's Family Diner!"

"That's impressive," Mike said honestly, his whole arm shaking as Olivia shook his hand with quite a lot of vim and vigor.

"Say...you look kinda familiar," Olivia looked Mike up and down thoroughly, studying him.

Mike towered over her, but Olivia really didn't seem to notice the difference in height. He was rather skinny, but not to the point where he looked boney like the endoskeleton to one of the animatronics. Mike was at least half her age, Olivia surmised, probably more but, then again, she always prided herself on having more spunk than any kid of Mike's age.

"Have you ever been to Freddy's before?" she continued.

"Um, yeah," Mike admitted reluctantly. "But that was a long time ago..."

"See? I knew it!" Olivia said with a big grin on her round and pleasingly plump face. "That's why I've been 'employee of the month' a bunch of times; I got a good memory, kiddo, even for someone my age."

Olivia glanced at her watch.

"Midnight's coming, so I'll let you get settled in, hon. You're here til 6 am, right?" she questioned and Mike nodded in confirmation. "Good. Should be pretty quiet. The guy on the early morning shift will take care of getting the place opened up for the day, so you don't have to worry about that."

Olivia pulled open one of the desk drawers and rummaged through it for a moment, producing a series of cassette tapes. They were labeled: "Security Guard Training Tapes, Version 2."

"Here you are, kiddo. The official night security guard training tapes. Listen to one of these bad boys and you'll learn all you'll need to know about working at this fine place," Olivia stated, shoving the box of tapes into Mike's hands. "Actually, these are the newest versions of the tapes. One of our other guards just recorded some new stuff to, you know, change it up a little. I know the person who recorded them and he's a pretty nifty guy, so they should be good. He's been here a long time, so he certainly knows his way around a Freddy's! Actually, he just finished up his last week here and, well, you're his replacement. You've got some pretty big shoes to fill there, kiddo! I'll set up the first tape for you to go off at midnight, so you can begin your shift with some sage advice."

Olivia grabbed her drink cup from off of the desk as she put the first cassette tape into the audio system for Mike to listen to shortly. She winked at Mike before taking her things and finally departing for the evening. Mike let out a breath. Meeting Olivia surely made him feel better. It was nice to know that someone had survived so many nights at Freddy's and didn't seem any worse for the wear from it.

 _Well, time to get settled_ , Mike thought to himself. He, somewhat apprehensively, took a seat on the desk chair, the wheels of which squeaked as he scooted the chair back a bit to better reach the camera control panel. Just as Olivia stated, the phone rang right on the stroke of midnight and Mike got his first taste of the security guard training tapes.

" _Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay? Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know..."_

Mike admittedly only half listened to the message that was currently playing, as most of his attention was focused on the camera control panel. Nothing seemed out of place, though the sight of the animatronics staring at the camera with their dead, lifeless eyes was certainly unnerving. A chill ran down Mike's spine. The next part of the phone message didn't help the situation either.

 _"So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"_

The immobilizing fear that Mike had been experiencing was immediately replaced by a blinding rage. How could someone joke about a situation like that? The Bite of '87 was no laughing matter; not one bit. Mike let out a slow breath as he tried to reign in his emotions. A blur of movement on the camera system out of the corner of Mike's eye was a welcomed distraction. Okay, well, not exactly a _welcomed_ distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.

Mike quickly turned his attention back to the camera control panel and flipped through the different feeds until he locked eyes with the grainy shadow of an animatronic that glared right back at him. He did his best to fight his urge to throw the camera control panel across the room and run screaming from the security office like he was on fire. However, Mike knew that he couldn't just run away this time. He needed to fix the problem that he created so many years ago. Conquering the nearly literal demons that roamed the halls of the supposedly family friendly establishment was the only way that he was going to be able to atone for his sins. Mike solemnly swore to himself as Bonnie the Bunny peered back at him in the feed from camera 5 that he would not go down without a fight. It was time to end this.

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If you would like to leave a review, it is much appreciated. Please remember that I go by the Golden Rule of Reviewing: please review for others the way you would want your own stories reviewed (in other words, no flames or insults just for the sake of them).

Also, I am open to ideas for future FNaF stories. If anyone has any ideas that they might want me to take a stab at, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM with prompts. Credit will be given if I post it on FF :)


	2. Night Two

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters. **

ABSOLUTION

 _CHAPTER TWO- THE SECOND NIGHT_

The first night, while unsettling, was nothing that Mike couldn't handle. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was feeling far more confident when he arrived for his shift for the second night at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Mike knew that getting cocky or playing it cool could sometimes come back to bite you in the ass, just like that time that he was playing hockey with his friends. He remembered when he was finally invited to go out and play with the cool, big kids in his neighborhood. Mike and his younger brother were looking forward to joining into their game, but the kids thought that his brother was a bit too young to play. _We don't allow babies on our team!_ So, he was forced to choose between being a good brother or playing it cool to impress the other kids. Grimacing as he thought back on this moment, Mike knew that he had ultimately made the wrong decision by adopting a cocky attitude and berating his little brother. It was still somewhat painful to relive that moment and witness his brother's tears streaming down his little face before running off back to their house.

Mike shook his head as he pulled open the front door to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The sound of his footsteps echoed down the empty hallways as he proceeded toward the security guard office. Mike spied Olivia in the office, so he greeted her politely and she smiled at him in return.

"Good to see you're back for another night, kiddo!" Olivia said as she patted Mike on the back with a hearty slap. "See? You're a natural!"

Mike coughed, momentarily having the wind knocked out of him by the pint sized middle aged woman.

"Thanks," he wheezed.

Just as she did in the night before, Olivia grabbed her personal belongings after popping the second cassette of the training tapes into the audio system.

"I set it up to midnight, just like before," she told Mike before heading out of the office. "See you tomorrow, kiddo!"

Olivia departed the office and Mike once again prepared himself for the second night of this undeclared war he waged against the animatronics. He flopped down into the desk chair and quickly pulled up the camera control panel, ready to begin his shift. Just like clockwork, the phone rang at the stroke of midnight and the second training tape began to play.

 _"Uhh, Hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats! I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses..."_

"More active?" Mike repeated, murmuring to himself as he flicked through the different camera feeds. "Bring it on."

The previously recorded message continued to play while he monitored the establishment through the camera system.

 _"So if-if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react... Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that. Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique..."_

Mike froze at the mention of Pirate Cove. He knew exactly to whom the Phone Guy was referring to: Foxy the Pirate. Well, shit. Mike ran a hand through his hair as he considered this new element that was just introduced to him. He certainly hadn't expected yet another memory of Freddy Fazbear's to torment him on a nightly basis now.

It wasn't that he hated Foxy. On the contrary, Mike had once been a big fan of the pirate fox. He remembered watching Foxy on the Freddy Fazbear cartoon show while he was growing up. Foxy had some pretty awesome scenes, with plenty of swashbuckling action that all of the kids Mike's age were immediately enthralled with. He had some fun times as a child putting on a Foxy mask and pretending that he was the furry sailor of the seven seas. And, of course, though he was no longer proud to admit it, Mike had used the mask a time or two to scare the daylights out of his younger sibling. While it was funny at the time, he now recalled these instances of childhood pranks with a bit of guilt. Well, there was nothing that Mike could do about it now. Instead, he knew that his attention was needed elsewhere. Specifically, on the homicidal animatronics that were roaming the halls of the pizzeria at present.

For the most part, Mike considered himself to be pretty fortunate. The animatronics hadn't been too troublesome for him. Freddy had been staying in his rightful place on stage. Foxy hadn't peeked out of Pirate Cove quite yet. Bonnie and Chica had been active, but hadn't really ventured out by the security guard office too much. Instead, they just seemed to enjoy taunting and unnerving him by leering at him with their beady endoskeleton eyes in the cameras. Seeing the animatronics in this light, all these years later, made Mike really question himself about how on earth he had been a fan of this franchise. Ah, the bliss of childhood ignorance. If only he didn't know what the animatronics were truly capable of...

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Reviews are most appreciated :)


	3. Night Three

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters. **No, but I did get the new FNaF book from Scott Cawthon for Christmas.

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER THREE- THE THIRD NIGHT

The third night started off just like every other night. Mike arrived and took over the guard duty from Olivia, who set up the training tape for him to go off at midnight before departing for the evening. Game face on, Mike took his seat in the desk chair and positioned the camera control system in front of him and prepared for the terrors that awaited him on this night. At the first stroke of midnight, just like the previous two nights, the phone rang and Phone Guy began his spiel.

 _"''Hello, hello? Hey you're doing great! Most people don't last this long. I mean, you know, they usually move on to other things by now. I'm not implying that they died. Th-th-that's not what I meant..."_

Mike rolled his eyes. Of course that's not what you meant, Phone Guy. Freddy Fazbear's was a fun filled place that was the delight of adults and children alike, not some terror filled murder house. Nah. Impossible.

 _"Uh, anyway I better not take up too much of your time. Things start getting real tonight._

 _Uh... Hey, listen, I had an idea: if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uhh, try playing dead! You know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think that you're an empty costume instead. Then again if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to... stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work. Yeah, never mind, scratch that. It's best just not to get caught..."_

Thanks for the calming words of wisdom, Phone Guy. It made this whole situation feel so much safer and friendlier. Mike pushed his snarky thoughts aside as he heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the hallway. Heart pounding, he quickly scanned through all of the camera feeds until he spied Bonnie in the west hallway.

"Shit, shit, shit," Mike muttered repeatedly to himself.

He quickly pushed the desk chair over to the left door and hit the button as fast as humanly possible to seal himself inside the office. Attempting to swallow, Mike could feel his heart racing to the point where the pounding echoed in his ears. He was perspiring profusely as the terror coursed through his body, with sweat beginning to form beads on his forehead.

Mike brushed the sweat away with the back of his hand. For a moment or two, he seriously considered quitting. Just get up, leave and never return. But he knew that he couldn't. Mike took this job for a reason. He had already made it this far, so there was no turning back now. He had to see it through to the end.

Mike cautiously flicked the light switch on to see if Bonnie was still lurking outside the office door. At one moment, he spied Bonnie's shadow in the blind spot of the hallway and then, just as suddenly as he appeared, Bonnie was gone. Mike let out a sigh of relief and released the door to conserve the power that he had remaining. Still a bit on edge, but much calmer at the moment, Mike rolled his chair back over to the camera control panel and checked the battery supply. The damn bunny bastard caused him to lose a big chuck of power as a result of keeping the door down for nearly an hour. Yeah, that wasn't good.

Mike's eyes travelled from the camera control panel to his watch. Damn; it was only two in the morning...he still needed to survive another 4 hours with about fifty percent of the power remaining. That was not good. Not good at all.

Mike rotated through the different camera feeds to see where the other animatronics were at present. Freddy, thankfully, was still on stage, though Mike couldn't deny the chill that shot through his body as the seemingly cuddly teddy bear figure had turned its head so that it was now looking directly at the camera. Trying to avoid that nightmare, he continued searching the camera feeds, eventually spying Bonnie in the dining area and hearing Chica in the kitchen. Hopefully, Mike tried to convince himself, Chica was just in the kitchen preparing him a pizza or a cupcake or something...then again, that may not be the best thing, judging by the evil glare from the cupcake plushie that was on the desk across from him. Yep, childhood memories and innocence smashed to pieces. Oh, and Mike was going to swear off cupcakes...at least for a little while.

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Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed the story so far. I appreciate your support and am looking forward to reading more of your comments :)


	4. Night Four

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters. ** Nope, but I do own three stars on the first game from beating 4/20 mode.

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER FOUR- THE FOURTH NIGHT

The previous night, admittedly, had rattled Mike, but that did not deter him from his final mission. Instead, it seemingly helped to prepare him for the potential dangers that awaited him as he returned for the fourth night at Freddy Fazbear's. As part of what had become his routine over the past few nights, Mike arrived at the pizzeria and made his way to the security guard office to chat with Olivia before taking over for the evening. Her naturally cheery demeanor usually helped to calm his nerves before settling into the battlefield, err, security office for the next few hours.

"Hi Olivia," Mike reached the security guard office and greeted his coworker. "How are you doing tonight?"

Instead of her usual smile and pep, Olivia looked up from the camera control panel and frowned.

"Hey there, Mikey," she replied. "C'mon in."

Mike did as instructed and entered into the office. He placed the soft drink cup he had gotten to go from the diner just down the street on the desk before turning to face Olivia.

"Is everything okay?" he questioned. "You seem a little down."

"Huh?" Olivia glanced over at Mike. "Yeah...well, no actually."

"What's up?"

Olivia let out a breath.

"You know the guy that recorded the training tapes that you've been listening to the past few nights?" She paused, and Mike nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, he disappeared."

"What do you mean disappeared?" Mike questioned.

"Disappeared? You know, vanished? Gone? Missing?"

"Didn't he retire last week or something like that? I think he mentioned something like that in one of the training tapes-"

Mike's sentence trailed off as he noticed Olivia shaking her head.

"Yeah, he did retire officially last week, but he was scheduled to come in to clean out his locker in the employee locker room and pick up his final paycheck. Plus, we were going to throw him a goodbye party this weekend, but Scott seems like he just fell off the face of the planet," She explained.

Olivia pushed the camera control panel out of her way and leaned back in the chair.

"You see, the thing is Mikey, that's not like him," she continued. "Scott's been here longer than I've been. He wouldn't just up and leave like that."

"Did he, maybe, have an emergency at home that he needed to take care of, so stopping in today just slipped his mind?" Mike suggested, hoping that the explanation for Phone Guy's disappearance was nothing sinister and merely a miscommunication between employees.

"I wish it were that simple," Olivia said flatly. "No one's heard from him since last week. Actually, come to think about it, I didn't seem him toward the end of last week either. He was a part of management, so I usually saw him at least once a day. It's like he just, poof, vanished. Kind of like a bad magic trick."

Mike stayed quiet, not entirely sure how to react to this news. While he was not surprised that bad things could happen at Freddy Fazbear's, it seemed kind of odd that someone could work for the company for so long without incident and then suddenly become a victim. Well, he didn't know for sure if Phone Guy had become a victim but, based on the company's track record and that lovely company greeting Phone Guy had in his first message, Mike had a feeling that the fate of the man in question probably wasn't good.

"Well, I'll keep an eye out for him," Mike tried to reassure Olivia. "Maybe he got carried away celebrating his retirement and just completely forgot."

"You're an incurable optimist, aren't you, kiddo?" Olivia said as more of a statement rather than a question.

"I wish," Mike said with a shrug.

Olivia yawned.

"Well, Mikey, I'm gonna get going. I have been here practically all day since the day guard called in sick, so I am absolutely beat," she said. "I'm going to go home, grab some leftover Chinese food, pour myself a glass of wine and then watch a good ol' horror movie."

"A horror movie?" Mike repeated as Olivia began to collect her things in preparation for her departure this evening. "You don't get enough of horror just working here?"

Olivia let out a hearty laugh as she inserted the recording scheduled for tonight from Phone Guy into the audio system.

"What are you talking about, kiddo?" she asked. "The animatronics aren't scary! They are like big, furry stuffed animals! They're like a part of the family."

 _That makes sense,_ Mike considered. _Olivia is here in the afternoon and the evening when there are still children and families here. She wouldn't see their true dark side_. Instead of destroying the view the woman in front of him had of Freddy and friends, Mike simply nodded in response.

"See you tomorrow, Mikey," Olivia called as she walked out of the office.

Mike was about to settle into the desk chair and get situated with the camera control panel when he spied Olivia poking her head around the door frame of the door leading to the east hallway.

"Hey, do me a favor, will ya?" she said. "If you do hear from Scott, let me know. I know he's a big guy who can take of himself, but I'm still worried about him. He trained me when I first started working here, ya know? I just want to know that nothing bad happened to him."

"Of course, Olivia," Mike replied immediately. "I'll keep an eye out for him and let you know if I hear anything."

"Thanks, kiddo," Olivia said before leaving for good this time.

Mike turned his attention back to the camera control panel now that Olivia was gone. He let out a slow breath and frowned. Obviously he had no evidence to back himself up, but he absolutely could not shake the feeling that something terrible happened to Phone Guy, err, Scott. The discussion with Olivia took a little longer than usual, so, shortly after Mike had settled in, the phone rang with this evening's message. Mike was sure to pay extra close attention to this particular message, just in case Phone Guy had left any sort of clue or something to what exactly happened to him.

 _"Hello, hello? Hey! Hey, wow, day 4. I knew you could do it. Uh, hey, listen, I may not be around to send you a message tomorrow...*bang, bang, bang, bang*_ _It's-It's been a bad night here for me. Um, I-I'm kinda glad that I recorded my messages for you *clears throat* uh, when I did..."_

Mike's eyes widened as he listened to the distress and fear that nearly practically emanated from the man's voice through the recording. Whatever was going on in that moment while Phone Guy was making the recording was not good. It couldn't be the animatronics coming after him, could it?

 _"Uh, hey, do me a favor. *bang, bang, bang, bang* Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits in the back room? *bang, bang, bang, bang* I'm gonna to try to hold out until someone checks. Maybe it won't be so bad..._ _Uh, I-I-I-I always wondered what was in all those empty heads back there..."_

Phone Guy's words were soon obscured by a melody that suddenly began to play. It sounded so familiar...where had he heard it before? Mike knew that it was one of the animatronics, but the song itself was something that he had listened to before. Wait, it was Freddy's song that was playing in the background. What was it called? Trogdor? No...Toreador! That's what it was. The Toreador March from the show, Carmen. Mike remembered taking a field trip with his music class in high school to see an opera and that was the one that was being performed that month.

Just beyond the sound of Freddy's music box, Mike could discern a moan in the background. That was then followed by a robotic scream and static. The silence that now filled the security guard office was almost deafening. Did Phone Guy just...die? Mike contemplated what he had just listened to while he attempted to monitor the animatronics as they began to wander throughout the building.

Another victim. Mike could only presume that Phone Guy had become the latest victim of Freddy Fazbear's. This man had dedicated many, many years to this organization, as evidenced by what Olivia had told him earlier. What kind of repayment does he get for his years of loyalty and hard work? Death. That's what Phone Guy got. He was murdered by the very things that the company claimed were supposed to bring joy and delight to children and their families.

Mike felt utterly horrible at the prospect of knowing that a man had presumably died in this room just a few days ago. Although he may not have known Phone Guy personally, he swore that he would not let Phone Guy's death go unpunished. Mike now had even more riding on his shoulders, as he was now leading the charge against Freddy Fazbear's for not only one victim, but for two.

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Reviews are most appreciated!


	5. Night Five

**DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters.** I do have a Foxy and Chica keychain, though.

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ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER FIVE- THE FIFTH NIGHT

The fifth night. While it seemed and felt as though the nights were never ending, in reality, the days actually flew by. Of course, the more time Mike spent at Freddy Fazbear's, the more hellish the environment became.

Bonnie and Chica were, by far, the most active. Though Mike did his best to conserve what little power he had, the bunny and chicken-duck hybrid regularly showing up outside the doors of the security guard office for a not so friendly "hello, hi," practically negated his efforts. Freddy, himself, had also decided to join into the late night antics. Although the titular character had yet to make a physical appearance to Mike, he was still completely and utterly horrifying. It was the element of the unknown that Freddy created that could presumably terrify even the hardest of criminals on death row. The entire building could be completely silent, save for the ambient noises that blended into the background, such as the whir of the desk fan. Then, seemingly out of the blue, a demonic laughter or footsteps would ring out in the darkness. Whatever Mike believed he had learned about his job over the past few nights had essentially been tossed out the window with the addition of this element.

And then there was Foxy. The man (or animal, Mike wasn't entirely sure which) of Pirate Cove was, as Phone Guy put it, unique. On occasion, Foxy would peek out from behind the curtain, sometimes even stepping outside on to the stage. For the most part, Foxy seemed content to just sing and hum to himself while hidden from the camera's line of sight. Hearing the melody of "dum dum dum," coming out from behind the curtain in Pirate Cove was always reassuring. Mike almost considered it music to his ears.

Well, it was reassuring when Foxy was in an agreeable mood, at least. Unfortunately, the animatronic was feeling extra spunky, for lack of a better term, on this particular evening, as evidenced by the fox shadow lingering on the stage at Pirate Cove. It was only three in the morning; it was highly possible-and probable-that Foxy may depart from his designated area and head toward the security guard office. That, Mike was fully aware, would not be good. Not at all.

To complicate matters further, the battery supply was depleting at a rapid pace, so Mike was unable to monitor Foxy as frequently as he would have preferred. With Foxy already preparing to depart from Pirate Cove, it was now a waiting game until the animatronic in question was en route to the security guard office. 6am couldn't come fast enough.

After a quick peek into the blind spots in the east and west hallways for Chica and Bonnie, respectively, Mike rolled the desk chair back over to the camera control panel. He heard the faint sound emanating from the kitchen of the Toreador March, so he knew that Freddy was occupied, at least for the moment. Mike then pulled up the feed for Pirate Cove on the camera control panel, only to find camera 1C vacant.

"Damnit! This is not the animatronic version of _Where's Waldo?!"_ Mike muttered to himself as he frantically flipped through the feeds.

Foxy did not appear on any of the video feeds until Mike switched over to the camera 2A shot. The image of the fox animatronic barreling down the hallway was like something out of a horror movie. Momentarily stunned from disbelief over what he was seeing, Mike shook his head in an attempt to regain his senses and control over the situation. He shoved the camera control panel out of his way and popped out of the desk chair and over to the west office door as fast as humanly possible. It was just by the skin of his teeth that the office door slammed down just as Foxy reached the end of the hallway.

Mike slowly backed away as the Pirate Cove fox began pounding away at the closed door. Was that door strong enough to keep Foxy out of the office? Mike wasn't entirely sure that the door, though by all appearances, was sturdy enough to survive the endless barrage of Foxy's banging fists, err, paws. It was, decidedly, a waiting game as Mike was held captive in his office by the animatronic just outside his door.

It has been said that, when near death, one's life passed before one's eyes. In Mike's case, he wasn't seeing the entirety of his life flashing in front of him on the imaginary movie screen that was his mind. Instead, he was being subjected to an ongoing montage of all of the times he had tortured and frightened his little brother when he donned a Foxy head and popped out of the darkness to, as he once considered it, play some harmless pranks. But, karma was a bitch, so Mike was now experiencing everything he did to his brother, except it was ten times worse because this came with the real possibility of death.

And, because, apparently, one animatronic on a blood thirsty rampage wasn't enough, Freddy decided that he wanted to join the party as well.

"Go away, Freddy!" Mike called into the darkness after the bear's laughter dissipated into a chilling echo sounding down the east hallway. "I don't have time to deal with you right now!"

Finally, thankfully, the pounding on the door subsided. Hands shaking, Mike pulled the camera control panel to him and checked the camera 1C feed. Much to his relief, Foxy was quietly back in Pirate Cove. The cold sweat of terror that Mike had been experiencing since the moment he discovered that Foxy had disappeared finally relented and his heart no longer felt as though it was about to burst right through his ribcage and explode straight out of his chest.

So, that's what it felt like to be doggedly pursued by Foxy. When the hunter became the hunted; things were certainly far less fun. Mike closed his eyes-but only for a moment, as he needed to be constantly vigilant and on guard-and let out a long, slow breath. So, that's how his brother felt. So, that's the blinding, paralyzing fear his brother experienced at the mere sight of Foxy.

He felt terrible. He felt like either sobbing uncontrollably or becoming violently sick; maybe even both. Either way, Mike couldn't deny the pangs of guilt that washed over him and subsequently drowned him. If there was an award for the worst brother ever, Mike was certain that he would be the reigning champ. Simply working at Freddy Fazbear's was no longer enough, he realized. The façade of delight and happiness that the company pretended to exude needed to be eliminated. No one else needed to be hurt by Foxy, Chica, Bonnie and Freddy; especially Freddy. No one at all.

* * *

Hoping everyone has had a great start to the new year! Reviews are most appreciated.


	6. Night Six

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters. **Enter witty line here.

A/N: I am using Golden Freddy and Fredbear interchangeably, just a heads up so things don't get confusing :)

* * *

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER SIX-THE SIXTH NIGHT

Night six began with no phone call message from Phone Guy. Not that night five's phone call could really even be considered as such; Mike couldn't get anything out of that garbled mess. Olivia had been her usual self, though her normal cheeriness was still somewhat toned down due to her continued concern over Phone Guy, aka Scott's, whereabouts and general wellbeing. Mike really didn't have the heart to tell her that he was probably dead and stuffed into a Freddy suit. They surely don't make a 'sorry your boss, coworker and longtime friend was murdered by some homicidal animatronics and stuffed into an empty character suit' Hallmark card. Then again, if they did, they probably could make a killing off of it, no pun intended.

Right off the bat, the animatronics were on the prowl the moment after Olivia left the establishment. But, Mike was ready. The fear he had been feeling over the past couple of days had been replaced with the anger that simmered in him as a result of the trail of carnage that seemed to be ever growing with no end in sight. Mike had spent long enough on the front lines of this battlefield that he felt secure enough to take matters into his own hands. Tonight, he would make sure that all of the elements were in check and set so that he could enact his plan to stop the animatronics from harming anyone ever again. Granted, he wasn't sure how, but he was going to try.

As expected, with the animatronics being this active, Mike had little to no time to really think about how he was going to end the furry robots' tyranny. He had a system going that really helped to keep things from spiraling out of control...at least, not right away. Step one: close right office door. Step two: check Foxy in Pirate Cove. Step three: check blind spots with door lights for Bonnie and Chica. Step four: if clear, release door. If being stalked, lock animatronics out of office, then proceed to panic. Step five: deep breath, then repeat. Silently weep.

It was about as foolproof as one could get to warding off death at Freddy Fazbear's. That being said, Mike was just entering step three of his "let's not die" game plan when illuminating the blind spot outside of the right door revealed a chicken-duck staring directly into the office. Despite the fact that he had nearly worked here for a week, Mike still jumped when one of the animatronics appeared in his face from out of the blue. If one didn't jump, or at least panic just a little bit, one was presumably dead on the inside. But, at least it felt like it, one died a little bit each day one worked a night shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

"Hey there, Chica!" Mike's voice cracked, making him sound like he was entering puberty. "You're, um, looking good...I guess?"

Just as soon as she appeared, Chica was gone and off roaming the halls once again just as quickly. Mike let out a relieved sigh as he clicked off the light and released the right door. The pounding of his heart that rang in his ears was gradually replaced with the soft whirring of the desk fan. The proverbial calm before the storm? Presumably, but Mike still relished the moments, which had become far and few between, when none of the animatronics were trying to stuff him into an empty suit, eat his brains, drive him crazy, etc.

He must have been relishing with too much vim and vigor because the great Freddy Fazbear overlords decided things were a little too quiet. _What? He's not fearing for his life? We can't have that! Time to mess with his head!_ And mess with his head they did.

In one moment, Mike had just been checking in with Foxy in Pirate Cove, courtesy of the camera control panel, the next moment, there was a furry lifeless body, err, suit, sitting mere inches in front of him. If the desk chair hadn't currently been pressed up against the back wall of the office, Mike was certain that he would have fallen straight on his head after flipping backward out of the chair following him jumping a foot in the air at the sight of the animatronic appearing out of thin air right before his eyes.

"Golden Freddy?" Mike squeaked out, attempting to make sense of what he just saw. "Wait, Fredbear?"

Fredbear, sometimes known as Golden Freddy, Mike was fairly certain, had just appeared in his office. But it didn't make sense; it was impossible! Golden Freddy, Fredbear, or whatever the hell he was called, had been retired. Mike knew for sure that his particular character had been taken out of commission. And how did he know that? Well, it was because it was his fault that Fredbear was retired.

"What do you want from me?" Mike shouted.

Sure, shouting at nothing made it seem like he'd lost his sanity. Hell, if he was on the outside looking in and saw someone else doing the things he was doing, Mike was sure that it would look like he was the king of the funny farm. However, Mike knew what he saw. He knew that he saw Fredbear slumped before him in the office.

"I know it was you, Fredbear!" Mike continued. "I don't know how, and I don't know why, but I know it was you!"  
As if he was answering him, Mike envisioned the words "it's me," followed by flashing images of Golden Freddy and friends. To be honest, it looked like an acid trip. Instead of feeling frightened, Mike felt angry.

"You want me? Then come and get me, Fredbear!" he yelled. "I'm the one you should have attacked! I know I'm the one that deserved it! I'm ready now! I'm ready to pay! Come and get me! I'm not afraid of you anymore! Come and get me!"

"Um, who are you talking to?"

Mike whirled his head around and saw a man in a purple security guard's outfit leaning against the right office doorway.

"Oh, hi AJ," he said to the morning shift guard. "Wait, why are you here, AJ?"

"Uh, 'cause it's six in the morning, Mike. It's time for my shift," AJ replied matter-of-factly.

Mike's eyes travelled from AJ's face down to his watch. It was 6am. Oh, thank goodness.

"Boy, time flies," Mike let out a nervous laugh in an attempt to brush things off, as to not make AJ and his other coworkers believe that he was an escaped insane asylum patient that was hiding from the orderlies who were out to get him by working the night shift at Freddy Fazbear's.

"Sure," AJ replied warily. "Oh, Olivia wanted me to ask you if you were available to work tomorrow night too. She called me this morning as I was on my way in and asked me to pass on the message."

"Uh, sure," Mike mumbled.

His eyes widened as he realized that he had just agreed to spend another night working in this hellhole.

"Great," AJ replied. "I'll let Olivia know when she comes in today. Thanks, Mike."

Well, shit. Guess he was coming back for another night.


	7. Night Seven

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its** **characters.** Alas, it does not belong to me. Perhaps I can get it for my birthday.

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER SEVEN-THE SEVENTH NIGHT

Another day, another dollar, Mike tried to assure himself that at least he was getting a paycheck for his troubles. Who was he kidding? A six figure salary wouldn't be good enough for this job. But, then again, Mike wasn't there was for the meager salary. He was there for absolution and to right the wrongs he had created so many years ago. He made this mess so it was his responsibility to clean it up.

Heading inside, Mike made his way to the security guard office. After his usual chit chat with Olivia, he settled in and prepared for his seventh night. Mike was fairly certain that the animatronics were going to be brutally active tonight; Phone Guy mentioned something to that effect in one of the messages he recorded before becoming Freddy meat. Regardless of the activity, he was ready. The run in he had with Chica yesterday had sparked an idea. Mike wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but at least had a plan.

It was certainly interesting how night seven progressed. Mike was actually looking forward to his run ins with the animatronics. Bonnie and Chica were being cooperative, for lack of a better term, which allowed Mike to "fix" the problem. Now all that was left to take care of was Foxy and Freddy' that was going to be a little trickier.

He had managed to get Bonnie and Chica relatively early in the evening, so now his focus was entirely on Freddy and Foxy. Mike wondered if it was almost better to wait until it was nearly the end of his shift to take care of those two. They tended to become more docile as soon as 6am arrived, presumably because the establishment was technically open for business. Thinking it over, that was probably best. It came with a decreased chance of death, so that was a win-win situation in Mike's book.

With one eye glued to the camera control panel and the other on his watch to monitor the time, the night was certainly far more tolerable with only two animatronics to have to worry about. Soon enough, AJ arrived for his shift, which was a sign for Mike to finish off the two remaining characters.

"Good morning, AJ," Mike greeted his coworker.

"Hey, Mike," AJ replied. "Better night tonight?"

"Oh, definitely," Mike confirmed.

Now for a distraction.

"By the way, AJ, I think the kitchen camera is out again," Mike continued. "I tried to fix it last time but I obviously did a subpar job since it's out again. Mind taking a look at it? I'll hold the fort down while you go and check."

"I hate that kitchen camera," AJ groaned.

He dropped his things in the security guard office before heading to the kitchen to tend to the camera. Based on the previous repair jobs Mike had seen for the kitchen camera, he estimated that he had approximately fifteen minutes or so to do what he needed before the camera was back online and AJ would return. It was now or never.

The moment Mike saw AJ leave the supply closet with the box of tools via the camera feed, he was up and out of his seat. The desk chair was practically left spinning as a result of the speed in which he ran out of the office at. Mike was en route to Pirate Cove, followed by the show stage. He hurried himself to ensure that the animatronics would no longer be a threat so that AJ, nor the other employees that would be filing in momentarily, would be aware of what he was doing.

Once Foxy was "fixed," it was on to Freddy. After Freddy, Mike gathered his tools before racing back to the security office. Slightly out of breath from running around the building so quickly, Mike attempted to act casually as AJ returned to the office as well.

"You okay there, Mike?" he questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course," Mike replied immediately. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, for starters, you look like you just came back from running a marathon," AJ explained.

"Nah, I'm good," Mike tried to assure his coworker.

He quickly began to collect his things in order to be able to depart from the building without AJ becoming suspicious. Once outside and safely in his vehicle, Mike relaxed as he rested his hands, and then his head, against the steering wheel. It was an odd feeling, now that the battle was technically over. Mike wanted to feel at peace but, right now, he felt...nothing. He just felt empty.

Frowning, Mike turned the keys in the ignition and started his car up. Ah, well. Maybe the magnitude of what he had done hadn't registered yet. Mike was ready to head home and take a nap. Perhaps, he wondered, he wouldn't be plagued by nightmares when he closed his eyes this time.

With a groan of protest, Mike, face still buried in his pillow, blindly reached one hand out from beneath the covers to grab the ringing phone on the end table next to his bed.

"Hello?" he grumbled into the phone, pretty sure that whatever the person on the other end heard probably didn't resemble any words found in the English language.

"Mikey? It's Olivia from Freddy Fazbear's," a voice replied from the other end of the line.

Olivia? Why would she be calling him now?

"Hi Olivia," Mike said, lifting his head from the pillow so that his voice would no longer sound like he was behind a Freddy head mask.

"Listen, Mikey, I hate to do this to you, but I need you to come back in,"

"Come back in?" Mike repeated. "But I just left. Why do you need me to come back?"

"Let's just say that something was brought to my attention and I need to discuss it with you," Olivia explained.

Yeah, that didn't sound good. Mike could tell by the lack of chipper in Olivia's tone that whatever she wanted to discuss probably wasn't something good. Instead of prodding her for more information, Mike simply assured his coworker that he was on his way before ending the call, getting out of bed, getting dressed and then making his way back to Freddy Fazbear's.

Back at his place of employment, Mike poked his head into the security office.

"Hey, AJ," he said. "Olivia called and asked me to come in; know where she is?"

AJ looked up from the camera control panel.

"Try the manager's office," he suggested, thumbing over his shoulder in the direction of the offices.

Mike nodded and then took AJ's advice and went off in search of Olivia in the "employee only" wing of the building. He eventually found her in the manager's office, just as AJ said. Mike knocked on the door before opening it and stepping inside.

"You wanted to see me, Olivia?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," she confirmed. "Have a seat, Mikey."

Mike did as instructed and took a seat in one of the chairs facing the desk.

"With Scott's...departure," Olivia continued. "I've been promoted to manager."

"Congrats, Olivia," Mike smiled.

Olivia nodded.

"Thanks, Mikey," she said. "But, I'm sure you've heard that with great power comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, my first task as manager is to investigate you, Mikey."

"Investigate me?" Mike repeated, admittedly surprised by this news. "What for?"

"AJ noted that the animatronics were acting really unusual today when the place opened up for business."

"What do you mean, unusual?"

"They were completely not functioning," Olivia explained. "Each and every animatronic was simply not working. No singing, no dancing, no nothing! Not to mention that they also stunk to high heaven, hoo boy!"

Mike decided to play dumb, even though he was well aware of what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Olivia, but what does that have to do with me?" he questioned.

"Well, we weren't sure why Freddy and his friends were acting so strange, so we checked the camera recordings," Olivia informed Mike. "We saw you on the tape, Mikey. We saw you messing with the AI levels of the animatronics. You messed with all of them, Freddy, Chica, Bonnie and even Foxy. Why, Mikey? Why?"

It was a bit of a dilemma; did he tell her the truth or feign ignorance? Mike let out a breath as he thought over his options.

"I'm really sorry, Olivia," he said. "I had to. I...couldn't let them continue to hurt people...not after what happened...to Lukas..."

Olivia held her hand up to silence Mike.

"I'm the one who's sorry, Mike," she said. "It's out of my hands, kiddo. The big wigs take tampering with the animatronics seriously, especially after the whole Bit of '87 incident."

Mike winced as Olivia rummaged through some papers scattered across her desk. She stopped when she pulled out a rosy pink one. Uh oh.

"Like I said," Olivia frowned as she handed Mike the pink slip. "I'm sorry about this, kiddo. It's nothing personal; I don't make the rules, I just enforce them."

Mike accepted his notice of termination with a solemn nod. It was all right. He had done what he needed to.


	8. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters.**

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER EIGHT-EPILOGUE

Now that he had the rest of the day-and week-off since he was fired, Mike could do what he wanted. Unfortunately, he had no idea what that was. Working at Freddy Fazbear's over the past couple of days had given him purpose, even if it scared the daylights out of him. He enjoyed feeling as though he was actually making amends for his misdeeds...making amends; that's what he needed to do.

Driving around absent-mindedly, Mike quickly made a U-turn so that he could head to the one place that he knew he needed to be right now. It was a short, maybe twenty minute, drive in silence as Mike made his way to his destination. Pulling up to the gates of the cemetery, Mike pushed aside his feelings of guilt and sadness that threatened to overwhelm him. He had good news to share today. There was no room for those other, negative emotions.

Mike drove through the winding cemetery roads for a moment or two before pulling over to the side of the road in front of a big oak tree. Getting out of his car, Mike shoved his hands into his jeans pockets before walking over to the lone grave near the tree. He stood before the tiny gravestone, unsure of what to say.

 _Your brother is kind of a baby, isn't he?_

 _It's hilarious_

 _Why don't we help him get a closer look! He will love it!_

 _No please!_

 _Come on guys, let's give this little man a lift. He wants to get up close and personal!_

 _No! I don't want to go!_

 _You heard the little man! He wants to get even closer ! Ha ha ha!_

 _Hey guys, I think the little man said he wants to give Fredbear a big kiss!_

 _ON THREE! One...two..._

Mike shook his head, pushing that terrible memory back to the deep, dark recesses of his mind, where it belonged. He let out a slow breath, still trying to find the words to say in this situation.

"Hey, little bro," Mike began to say.

He squatted down and pulled away some of the overgrown grass and weeds from in front of the epitaph. Mike's eyes connected with the words inscribed on the stone as he did so: _Lukas Schmidt, 1980-1987_. Seeing the proof of his brother's death never ceased to send a chill down his spine at Mach 1 speeds.

"I got good news, kiddo," Mike said, sitting down on the ground next to the gravestone.

He had been spending too much time with Olivia; her nicknames were rubbing off on him. Well, at least he didn't need to worry about picking up any more of her mannerisms or habits since he was going to be spending any more time at Freddy Fazbear's.

"Well, I finally did it," Mike continued. "Just like I promised you, little man. I promised that I would never let Freddy or any of the other animatronics hurt you or anyone else again. And I finally did it."

A gentle breeze rushed over Mike. He smiled to himself, feeling like it was his brother reaching out to him from the great beyond.

"I know I've told you this before but, again, I'm so sorry for what happened at your birthday party," Mike said. "And I want to say it again because I get it now. I understand how scary and utterly terrifying it was to be tortured by Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy. I can only imagine how terrible it was for you at only seven years old to have me doing stupid shit to you, like putting on that Foxy mask and jumpscaring you. I mean, I was ready to climb under the desk and cry for mom when Foxy, Bonnie, Chica and Freddy were hanging outside my office door like a couple of creepers. Man, did I look like a big baby!"

Mike quietly chuckled to himself. He could imagine his younger brother laughing with him at that one.

"Again, I am just so, so sorry, little man, for what I did to you. I'm done blaming my so-called friends for egging on because I could have told them at any time to stop, but I didn't," Mike said, looking down at the grass he was pulling, ashamed. "But I kept my promise and fixed everything. I just hope that you can forgive me one day. That will help me to forgive myself someday."

Mike stood up from the ground, dusting the stray pieces of grass from his pants. He looked down at the gravestone. It may not have been the best way to remedy the situation, but, then again, he really couldn't do anything about his brother's death. It was a good first step in making sure that no other child or family suffered the way he and his brother did as a result of the Bite of '87. It was Mike's way of making peace with his guilt and also honoring his brother's memory by preventing future tragedies. It was a good start to gaining absolution, and he would get to that point, little by little, no matter how long it took.

THE END...or is it?


	9. Alternate Ending

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters.**

ABSOLUTION

CHAPTER NINE-EPILOGUE (ALTERNATE ENDING)

Now that he had the rest of the day-and week-off since he was fired, Mike could do what he wanted. Unfortunately, he had no idea what that was. Working at Freddy Fazbear's over the past couple of days had given him purpose, even if it scared the daylights out of him. He enjoyed feeling as though he was actually making amends for his misdeeds...making amends; that's what he needed to do.

Driving around absent-mindedly, Mike quickly made a U-turn so that he could head to the one place that he knew he needed to be right now. It was a short, maybe twenty minute, drive in silence as Mike made his way to his destination. Pulling up to the nursing care facility, Mike pushed aside his feelings of guilt and sadness that threatened to overwhelm him. He had good news to share today. There was no room for those other, negative emotions.

Mike walked through the halls, catching glimpses of the families with their loved ones as he passed by their rooms. He reached the end of the hallway, stopping in front of the room labeled "Lukas Schmidt." Letting out a breath, Mike pushed the door open and headed inside.

 _Your brother is kind of a baby, isn't he?_

 _It's hilarious_

 _Why don't we help him get a closer look! He will love it!_

 _No please!_

 _Come on guys, let's give this little man a lift. He wants to get up close and personal!_

 _No! I don't want to go!_

 _You heard the little man! He wants to get even closer ! Ha ha ha!_

 _Hey guys, I think the little man said he wants to give Fredbear a big kiss!_

 _ON THREE! One...two..._

Mike shook his head, pushing that terrible memory back to the deep, dark recesses of his mind, where it belonged. He let out a slow breath, still trying to find the words to say in this situation.

Stepping into the room, he was met with the steady beeping of his brother's heart monitor and ventilator. Mike's younger brother, Lukas, laid motionless on the crisp white bed in the pale grey room, just as he had done every day since his accident. He was in a coma and had been ever since Fredbear's mouth chomped down on his fragile little head. As Phone Guy said, it was miraculous that his brother had survived for so long without a frontal lobe. In fact, Mike's parents continuously held out hope that Lukas would wake up one day. They moved him to this long term care facility in the hopes that the constant medical supervision would be best for him and lead to his awakening and subsequent recovery.

Mike's parents visted Lukas every day. Mike couldn't bear to visit after the bite first happened. He was far too guilt ridden to see his little brother in such a state. As he grew older, however, Mike always made it a point to visit his brother and spend time with him. His feelings of guilt were replaced with anger and sorrow throughout the years, which urged him to make up for the damage he caused to the little boy that he, as his older brother, was supposed to protect and guide. Instead, he let him down. Badly.

But, Mike saw the notice advertising the position of employment at Freddy Fazbear's and that's when he realized that, perhaps, there was a way to get justice for Lukas and also make amends for what he did.

"Hey, little bro," Mike began to say.

Mike carefully sat down on the edge of his brother's hospital bed. It still amazed him to see his brother in this state. The seven year old boy that arrived at the long term care facility was now almost as big and tall as Mike. Despite this, Mike still saw him-and knew that he would always see him- as the teary eyed little boy in the grey and black striped shirt and blue jeans that was his little brother.

"I got good news, kiddo," Mike said, sitting down on the bed next to the lifeless shell that was once his lively little brother.

He had been spending too much time with Olivia; her nicknames were rubbing off on him. Well, at least he didn't need to worry about picking up any more of her mannerisms or habits since he was going to be spending any more time at Freddy Fazbear's.

"Well, I finally did it," Mike continued. "Just like I promised you, little man. I promised that I would never let Freddy or any of the other animatronics hurt you or anyone else again. And I finally did it."

Mike could have sworn that he felt his brother's foot stirring beneath the bed sheets, almost like he was acknowledging what he was telling him. The doctors, nurses and other medical staff would disagree, though. _He hasn't moved in years. You're imagining things._

"I know I've told you this before but, again, I'm so sorry for what happened at your birthday party," Mike said. "And I want to say it again because I get it now. I understand how scary and utterly terrifying it was to be tortured by Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy. I can only imagine how terrible it was for you at only seven years old to have me doing stupid shit to you, like putting on that Foxy mask and jumpscaring you. I mean, I was ready to climb under the desk and cry for mom when Foxy, Bonnie, Chica and Freddy were hanging outside my office door like a couple of creepers. Man, did I look like a big baby!"

Mike quietly chuckled to himself. He could imagine his younger brother laughing with him at that one.

"Again, I am just so, so sorry, little man, for what I did to you. I'm done blaming my so-called friends for egging on because I could have told them at any time to stop, but I didn't," Mike said, looking down at a crack in the pale blue tiled floor beneath his feet, ashamed. "But I kept my promise and fixed everything. I just hope that you can forgive me one day. That will help me to forgive myself someday."

Mike stood up from the bed and straightened out his brother's bed sheets and fluffed his pillow to ensure that his brother was comfortable and warm. It may not have been the best way to remedy the situation, but, then again, he really couldn't do anything about his brother's accident. It was a good first step in making sure that no other child or family suffered the way he and his brother did as a result of the Bite of '87. It was Mike's way of making peace with his guilt and also honoring his brother's memory by preventing future tragedies. It was a good start to gaining absolution, and he would get to that point, little by little, no matter how long it took.


End file.
